Carnation Complication: Before Voltron Arc
by CacophonyEG
Summary: Everyone has a soulmate mark, for humans, the marks can be vast many things, and colours, the thing that ties one soulmate to another is that the silhouette of each mark is always the same. Race, gender, it does not matter who, or what your soulmates are, the only taboo is if you are a cursed third soulmate. This is a story about Pidge being Shiro's and Keith's third.
1. Being A thrid

Katie's mom often told her; life was not defined by one or two moments, it was created by many moments big and small that combined and shaped a person's life.

It's just her mom just never told her how many could happen spread apart over years or condense within a handful of months or a few weeks… or how many of them could revolve around only a small handful of people.

The first person to completely flip her world around was; Takashi "Shiro" Shirogama, her father's favourite pupil, and a good friend to her brother. The tall muscular man was practically a legend in her household, both her father and brother often spoke of Shiro at their dinner table, their words filled with high praise, and admiration.

As Matt and Shiro became better friends, the tall man's presence at her home became a semi-regular thing. Katie was always polite to Shiro; he was kind, smart, and never spoke down to her; out of all her brother's friends, he was easily her favourite. She wasn't really talkative with Shiro, but she liked being around him, despite her long list of inept social skill, he had this unexplainable calming aura about him. It sort of drew her to him, often finding herself hanging around him and her brother. Most often when they worked on something, either to help them or just for some company as she worked on some of her own things.

Her personal often work involved building up her application for the garrison, she was still a little too young to join the garrison but she wanted to be prepared as possible.

Katie was going to get in on her own merits and not with her father's recommendations, she could already hear the voices of her future classmates mocking her and claiming she only got in because of her father's help.

Pidge was never sure how, but Shiro got wind of her wanting to join the Garrison. Ever the person to try and build up other people, he offered to help her learn some Japanese, all so she could add multilanguage skills to her application. Shiro openly respected her choice, compared to others who sconed her for taking the 'hard way'. It was the main reason she agreed, and he ended up being a great teacher for her.

She even got to call Shiro by his first name during lessons. After she asked for permission of course. Surprisingly, Shiro seemed touched by the request and almost encouraged her to call him by his first name. Katie guessing it was because most people called Takashi by his nickname over his first name.

One hot summer's day, Takashi was over helping Matt replace the engine in his hoverbike. Katie off to the side, providing 'helpful' peanut gallery comments here and there as she worked on her Laptop, staying off to her own little corner.

Katie never thought the simple act of Shiro rolling up his sleeves, would change her life forever. She usually would have never paid attention to such an action, but Shiro almost always kept his arms covered and the flash of a soft Aqua colour on his arm caught her eyes.

Time felt like it had slowed at that moment as her eyes looked over the Aqua colour Soul mark on his lower right arm; it was in the form of a Carnation, and it's shape and design mirrored her own mark.

Katie swore her heart jump into her throat. It looked so much like hers, it matches up so perfectly, but she wasn't the kind to jump to conclusions... not without research, and with her mark being on her back she needed to double check...

So she did what any good scientist would do… she discreetly captured a picture of Shiro's Soul Mark and spent the next few days comparing it to hers, taking measurements and making digital flat renderings of both. It proved to be an undeniable matched.

All Soul Marks even between soulmates had their differences, Shiro's was a heartwarming Aqua, and looked so much better than the one on her back that was white with splotches of mix match colours.

She could never imagine someone so strong and kind; not to mention already knowing her father and brother, who was almost a part of her family already, would be her soulmate.

After her discovery, Katie spent as much time with Takashi as she could. Now that she was more aware of their bond, some of the strange sensations she got around him made so much more sense. When Katie focused, she started feeling his emotions and being able to sense when he was nearby. It made her feel giddy, it was proof that their bond was growing even if Takashi didn't know it yet.

In hindsight so much about the feelings she had towards Takashi made sense, the comforting sensations she had around him, her intuition to predict where his line of thinking was going, or how she never felt scared or hesitated to trust him.

Katie doing her best to calculate the right moment to tell him. She was never the best at these things, especially person to person, wondering how she could tell Shiro that they were soulmates. She never told her parents or brother, wanting Takashi to be the first she told.

One day Katie joined her brother and father as they went to the garrison, another schedule training session for a future mission still in the planning stages. Katie knowing Takashi would be there as well, not to mention she had assisted her father in programming the latest simulation and wanted to see it in action.

Pidge surprised to see Takashi brought someone else to this simulation, showing around a boy that was about the same age as her with dark hair, wearing a White and Red hoody.

"Who's that?" Katie quietly asked her brother, leaning a little closer to Matt so only he would hear her. Not really one to go out of her way to meet other people if she didn't have to, but her curiosity was buzzy. Katie could swear she had never seen the guy before but something about the guy felt... familiar since the moment she saw him with Takashi.

"Oh, that's Keith, Shiro's soulmate" Matt whispered back, and in that one moment, Pidge felt her life shatter. Takashi had mentioned Keith before, someone with a quick temper and great piloting skills, but never said anything about finding his soulmate… she was supposed to be…

Matt, unfortunately, miss reading his sister's expression, "I know right? I was surprised too, They've known each other for over a year" only a little earlier than when she met Takashi, Katie noted "but Keith always hid his mark and only half a year ago finally showed Shiro-"

Katie tried to listen, but Matt's voice faded away as her mind spiralled. She was a cursed third, a deviant, a taboo love to temp and test the real soulmates. Takashi would hate her, shun her from his life forever if she told him about their shared marks now.

What would her family think? Would they always look at her with pity or worst disappointment for the misfortune of having a third as a daughter? They could never know…no one could ever know.

Katie put on a mask, and watched the simulation like she usually would but kept herself as far away as possible from the Keith guy; thanks to him, her life was twisted and changed forever.

Katie spent the next few months hating Keith, hating that he was Shiro's real soulmate. Taking steps to distances herself from Shiro; stop taking lessons from him so he could focus on the upcoming mission. Even though the mission was over a year away… Change all her applications, she couldn't go to the Garrison anymore, she could never handle being in the same grade or classes as Shiro's real soulmate. Coming up with stories that she wanted to go to a more robotic focused military school. Stop hovering around both her brother and Shiro claiming they were becoming too distracting while she was working. Overhearing her farther once tell Matt and Shiro that she was distancing herself so it wouldn't hurt as much when they would be gone on the Kerberos trip for almost two years… and she let them think that.

Once Katie got into Avem academy; a sister flight combat school of the Garrisons that focused more on robotics, and program enhancements. She spent as much time at school as she could.

But no matter how much a part of her wanted to cut Shiro from her life completely; fearful of what he and her family would do if they discover her secret. She just couldn't...

Shiro had become too much a part of her families life, Katie did take every chase she was given to bury herself in her school work or personal projects, try to avoid Shiro whenever he was over. It wasn't unusual for her to be unsocial or get lost in a project, but every so often… even she couldn't fight the desire to get to know him more, to have a few moments near him even if she didn't say anything.

Eventually, she just felt numb whenever she was around Shiro, feeling tired as she tried burying all her feelings towards Shiro, forget any kind of connection she thought they had, forget he was her soulmate, so deep down she would forget the day she discovered he was her soulmate.

Launch day came and went, nothing more than a brief hug with Shiro before he was tossed into space with her family. Katie putting all her focus on her work instead, it was easy to just drown herself in the work, and forget about everything else, or she at least pretended it was.

Sadly nothing could stop the next time her world shattered and ripped her heart apart. Over half a year later Katie and her mother saw the news; Shiro, along with her Father and Brother we're declared dead, because of a flight accident.

So many emotions filled Katie at once, roaring, burning and flooding through her, through the bombardment of all her emotions she chooses to focus on her anger. How dare they blame Shiro's skills, he was the most amazing pilot the academy had to offer. He would never cause an accident like that, there had to be more.

Katie took time to sit down and think, if it had really been an accident, they would have been personally informed by soldiers from the garrison, showing proof to the next of kin so her mom and she would know they were K.I.A instead of M.I.A. No, what they did was completely against usual protocol. Even putting into account the public side, leaking it to the press? letting the world know before the next of kin did? No, this stuck of a cover-up, they wanted the public and her families attention to all be on 'Shiro's Mistake'.

The world, could fall for the illusion the Garrison was giving them but she never would. Shiro and her family were alive, she could almost feel it.

Katie watched as her Mom fell into depression, while desperately putting on a brave face for so her daughter wouldn't worry about her. Katie wasn't the best at handling other peoples emotions and dove herself more into searching for the truth, knowing the best way to help her mother was to find her brother and father.

Days with little to no sleep passed. Katie doing everything she could with her current equipment to find the truth, to find anything about her family. After hitting wall after wall… even with her hacking skills she quickly discovered she was going to need a direct link into the garrison computers if she was going to find anything.

A new thought suddenly crossed her mind, a person who she spent months hating and even longer childishly pretending he didn't exist, someone who was probably hurting just as much as she was...

Keith; Shiro's soulmate.

A fresh wave of guilt hit her, thinking about how much Keith must have been suffering this last week. She really didn't know Keith well enough to even know how he would have taken the news... He might even have the same feelings as her.

It didn't take long for Katie to find his latest contact information, what took her forever, on the other hand, was crafting the right message... how was she suppose to tell someone she barely knew that their…no...his soulmate; she mentally corrected. Had been wrongly accused, that the garrison, the school he went to, was lying to the whole world. To them about their loved ones? All while making it sound believable and not the ravings of a broken little girl that lost her big brother and Father.

She eventually settled on the most straightforward and short message.

 _The Garrison is lying about Shiro and my family,_

 _There's no way the ship went down like they said it did, they're hiding the truth._

 _Are you willing to help me find the truth?_

 _-Katie (Matt's sister)_

Sleep refused to come to her that night so she waited for his reply. Katie wondering what kind of person Keith was, would he believe her? Would he want answers like her? Was he so loyal to the Garrison that he wouldn't believe what she said and report her for the accusations?

Katie's mind swirling with possibilities not knowing what to expect from Shiro's real soulmate. The thought made her flinch... the fact that she was not Shiro's real soulmate still left this painful heavy feeling in her chest.

She shook her head, in a vain attempt to get rid of her thoughts at least for a few moments as she looked down at her phone waiting for a reply. Katie had sent the message through an old recycle phone, one she had put back together not too long ago on a board whim. It gave her some deniable if Keith did try to report her.

Katie staring down at the phone, rubbing her fingers over the screen like it would make the message come faster, her other hand absentmindedly petting Bae Bae; her family dog.

When the phone finally buzzed, her body instantly tensed up, startling Bae Bae awake, the pup huffing a little before resting her head back on her human's lap.

Katie held the phone close to her face with both her hands as she quickly opened the phone. A spark of hope filling her as she read the message from Keith:

 _What do you need me to do?_


	2. Hope

Keith wasn't sure he had any hope left inside of him, punching the wall closest to him. He under room arrest again for lashing out at the teachers, and Keith refused to stop. Not as long as they kept using Shiro as an example; a cautionary tale of how even the greats could die from a simple mistake. But they were wrong, all of them were wrong.

Shiro was alive, he just knew it, he could feel it… he was just too dumb to figure out how to prove it. Keith let out a frustrated growl and punched the wall again, swearing he was creating a dent in it from hitting the same spot too many times.

He could feel that Shiro was still alive, he could feel that their bond as soulmates was still there and tried to tell the garrison, force them to go up there and look for him, but they didn't listen. Telling him it was just phantom pains from the bond being severed like when someone lost a limb and swore they could still feel it there. And the only Commander that gave him the time of day, the only one that would even consider believe him...was lost in space with Shiro.

Keith felt like he was blinded and in a free fall, having no control and having an idea which way to go, where to look, what to do, how to find Shiro.

Keith rounds up to punch the wall again, pausing as his phone made a beeping noise. The sound so rare it startled him for a split second. Glancing over at the device on his desk, he mostly just used the thing as an alarm.

Keith cautiously approached his phone, only Shiro ever messaged him on it… who even had his contact information outside of Shiro and the garrison? His suspicion growing when he saw the message came from an unknown number, he took the risk and opened the message. Keith didn't have much on his phone so even if it was a virus it wouldn't affect him much.

Keith nearly dropped his phone reading the message, sitting down on his desk chair as he re-read the message.

The Garrison is lying about Shiro and my family,

There's no way the ship went down like they said it did, they're hiding the truth.

 _Are you willing to help me find the truth?_

 _-Katie (Matt's sister)_

His mind scrambled for a moment trying to recall Matt's sister; she had long hair and was pretty short, otherwise, he couldn't recall much about her appearance wise. Shiro talked about her, but his soulmate seemed to admire the whole holt family.

What did Shiro say about the sister...was learning Japanese from him, super smart, wanted to become a space pilot, and wasn't very social. Matt talked about his sister a lot, but he had long since tuned out Matt's pride rants over the latest thing his sister did.

Shiro had explained to him that she had some social anxieties so he wouldn't take it personally when she didn't go out of her way to talk to him; unlike her brother. The sister always seems to be working on something instead, in her own little corner, not looking up from her laptop when she was in her father's office. Keith sitting off to the side while Commander Holt and Shiro talked. Keith had been more than happy not to be forced into some awkward small talk, and just let her be.

If she was half as smart as Commander Holt, Katie could be his only hope to find out what really happened, where Shiro could possibly be...

 _What do you need me to do?_

He typed back, and didn't have to wait long for a reply…From a different unknown number...

 _First, accept this file and download it onto your phone._

The message said, coming with an attachment.

Keith opened the attachment that easily downloaded onto his phone as an app.

 _It's downloaded_

He answered.

A moment later his phone started buzzing with a call from the third string of unknown numbers.

"How many phones did this girl have?" Keith wondered for a moment before answering. "Hello?"

"Good it is you"

Keith heard from the other end after a short pause.

"Sorry needed to make sure it was really you, and the program I had you download should destroy any bugs or malware on your phone that the garrison might be using to track your calls and messages"

Keith hadn't even thought about that, but he wouldn't put it past the garrison "Do you know what happened to their ship, do you know what happened to Shiro?" he asked wondering how much she had figured out.

"Not yet, but I know Shiro would never make a mistake like their claiming, he was an amazing pilot" She replied, Keith, feeling relieved, finally hearing someone echo his own thoughts. "As for what happened to the ship… I need to get into the garrison computer, I need a direct link so I can get into their servers, they have a system with nearly no delay transmission from the Kerberos ship, it was set in place to keep the Garrison updated on all the progress during the mission"

"How do you know that?" Keith asked having heard nothing about this system, though if it was a secret Shiro wouldn't have told him about it, he would never do anything to risk a mission.

"This won't be the first time I've hacked into the Garrison's computers" she replied, in a calm matter of fact tone. It wasn't a brag it was a simple fact to her.

"And you need me to get into the Garrison without someone seeing" Keith concluded.

"Yep, the more time I have, the more I can extract from the computers"

"Okay... I have a way in" Keith told her, having snuck out of the Garrison a few times without getting caught, he was familiar with a handful of blind spots. "will any computer work?"

"It has to be one directly linked to the servers, they're always red cords that connect to the back of the computers" she explained

"Got it, give me a day to double check a few things and I'll get back to you"

"Sounds good, use the same number I just called you on to reply back to me," Katie told him, Keith, glad she did, otherwise he would have been wondering that later.

"Alright" Keith grunted in confirmation.

"...Good luck and stay safe…" she told him before hanging up.

Keith hanging up on his side as well, his heart was beating. Katie didn't have answers…yet… but she had a direction, she knew what would have the info they needed and where to look. She had a plan to get it, and that was a tone more than he had. Keith had no doubt she could do everything she claimed, she didn't brag about her skills like someone trying to boost their skills with words instead of actions, she admitted what she needed, and why she needed his help. She knew her limits and knew how to get the best results despite those limits… that probably broadcasted her intelligence to him more than watching her work.

Keith felt like he wasn't falling anymore, he could fly again, even though he still felt blind, he didn't mind letting Katie lead him.

He didn't let his mind fill with delusional thoughts that this was going to be easy or that he would find Shiro after finding a few clues. As much as he hated to admit it, this was going to take time, but at least he was doing something now.

Keith could actually feel himself growing tired, his mind and emotions had been a rollercoaster since the news about Shiro came in. His mind never seemed to be able to sleep… he couldn't sleep when he knew Shiro could be out there and he had no way to find or help him. He slowly moved from his desk chair to lay down on his bed.

Finally able to fall asleep, thanks to Katie he wasn't lost any more, he had a mission now.


	3. Mission

Katie was both pleasantly surprised and concerned that the easiest part of the mission was getting in.

She was a little impressed with how Keith had memorised guard rotations and routes, along with all the commanders usually eating time. Things she couldn't really know from the outside.

Keith carefully guided her to an office without anyone spotting them, the two of them sharing a quick nodded as she swiftly ducked into the room and guided over to the computer.

Keith walking down to the south side of the hall. The south side had a three-way hallway crossing that leads towards the office while the other way only had two. It would have been ideal to have a third person as look out on the north side but neither of them had anyone they could rely on… not for something like this.

They had talked a few times before today, getting all the plans right and the meeting times. They both agreed that as long as she got the information they needed, it didn't matter if she got caught. It was more important that Keith didn't get caught, so even if she was kicked out, they would still have a person on the inside.

Katie worked quickly; Keith's insight and tricks to get her in, had given them more time than she originally estimated, but neither of them could be absolutely sure how much more.

Katie used her computer talents in the dark with only the glow of the screen to help her navigate, slipping a flash drive no bigger than a hair clip into one of the ports. Her fingers started flying over the keys, occasionally clicking and tapping on the mouse to speed up navigation.

The more she uncovered the more she had to look for; every bite of worded data, every transmitted video from the probs around Kurobos, images that were sent from her father's ship... all leaving her with more question. Quickly sending anything she found to her flash drive, before digging further.

Hearing Keith's signal; an alarm noise from his phone, her fingers froze for only a split second. She quickly made a calculating choice, ejecting the flash drive and hiding the clip in her hair tie, and her nimble fingers took the next precious moments to hide any trace of the flash drive, and make it look like she was still digging.

"What are you doing in here!?" A man's voice shouted as the lights flicked on.

Katie blinked a few times her eyes adjusting to the new light, glaring up at the man as her vision cleared; Commander M. Iverson.

"You said the spacecraft went down due to pilot error but I've checked the video's from your probs; there is no evidence of a crash anywhere on Kurobos" She shouted at him, gesturing to the computer.

Hopefully, her yelling would give Keith time to leave, and if others were around hoping they would pay more attention to her voice than a student walking through the halls.

Katie taking a little pride making the man take a step back in shock, probably never imagine a girl her age would ever be able to hack the highly classified system. The Commander quickly straining himself out, able to compose his expression back to the ever-present stern scowl.

"that is classified, I could have you trialled for treason for hacking into that" He growled down at her, grabbing Katie by the arm, dragging her out of the room, tossing her into the arms of a guard waiting in the hall.

"Throw this child out and heighten out security, so another child doesn't get in" he ordered before turning away as if she wasn't his problem anymore.

Katie glared up at the man trying to dismiss her like a child having a tantrum "You Can't keep me out, I will find the truth, I will never stop!" she shouted at him, her blood boiling.

The Gaurd started to pull her away, Katie dragging her feet, she couldn't stop them, but she was going to make it as hard as possible.

It wasn't long before she was handed off to another pair of Guards, underlings to the first one, she assumes.

"Oh great this is going to mean extra shifts" One groaned, gripping her arm far too tightly making her yelp in surprised from the sudden jolt of pain "I had plans for this weekend" the guy was clearly unimpressed.

"all because of some Shiro groupie conspiracy theorist" the other grumbled, Katie, gasping and hissing, as the other one twisted the skin of her arm, taking his frustrations out on her, or at least as much as he could get away with. "Stupid brat" he growled, twisting her hand far up her back, muscles surging in pain forcing a pitiful cry out of her.

A moment later Katie heard two thumps as her left wrist became free, another wamp, thunk and her right arm was free. The relief of pain was the first thing she registered, the next was the two guards on the floor.

The warmth of a gentle but unfamiliar touch was placed on her shoulder, instinctually turning to face the source.

Keith...with an expression somewhere between angry and worried looking over her.

"Katie, are you okay?" he asked, his gentle touch carefully examining her arms, as she stared at him dumbfounded.

Why had he come back, why had he followed her after being caught, why didn't he stick to the plan, why…. Why did Keith defend her, protect her…

Why did Keith care?

Shiro gasped waking up with a jolt, an echo of pain going through his shoulder and arms, especially the left one. It didn't hurt too much but it was enough to wake him from his desperate attempt to sleep on these cold hard floors.

"Shiro are you okay?" Matt asked just above a whisper, looking down at this friend concerned and scared.

"I'm alright just a little pain from my soulmate...Keith might have gotten into another fight" Shiro explained.

"Oh…" Matt said softly, relief in his voice but his body never seemed to relax anymore, always tense, and ready to jump like a frightened kitten.

They took turns sleeping in this place, too afraid to let both of them rest and take the chance that one of these robotic guards would drag them away with no warning.

Especially after Commander Holt was separated from them only a few days ago. It was right after they went through a bunch of strange tests…No more like assessment.

He and Matt separated into one group and the Commander into another.

They had not seen him since, and though Matt kept assuming the worst he couldn't let himself do the same. Matt was emotionally and mentally breaking down, they had gone through classes about how to handle being captured, but being taught and actually going through it were two very different things.

Shiro had to stay strong, for both of them, he couldn't let himself think too much about never seeing Keith again, or how alone Keith must feel. Being subjected to another person he cared about leaving him, was probably putting him through an emotional rollercoaster.

The three of them were most likely presumed dead by the garrison or at the very least MIA.

He couldn't let himself linger on the fear that Keith's bond with him would fade and Shiro wouldn't be able to feel him anymore… Though he also worried about Keith being forced to feel his pain for whatever these aliens have planned for him next, Shiro couldn't let go of his bound, having a soulmate meant so much to both of them, he could never give it up.

He couldn't drown in thoughts of never being in the holt household again, never getting the chance for him and Matt to work on another project or just hang out. Never being around the motherly and gentle kindness that Colleen always showed him as if he was family. Never getting another moment to banter with Katie again, or tutoring her, though more often than not she ended up teaching him just as much as he taught her.

He had to keep stopping his mind from repeating his regrets over and over again, the most prominent one now being how he never pushed Keith to interact with the holt family more.

Yes, Keith interacted with Matt as the three of them often spent time together at the garrison and occasionally talked to Sam Holt when Shiro had meetings with him.

Keith and Katie crossing paths through their combined anti-social behaviour often led to them exchanging no more than glances or acknowledging nods. Keith had never really met Colleen either.

If only he had dragged Keith to holt dinners with him, or to their house when he was invited for barbeques or long project sessions with Matt. He didn't like to force Keith out of his comfort zone too much or too often. But maybe if he had, maybe if he urged Keith to join him more, his soulmate could of at least gotten to know Colleen and Katie.

So Keith wouldn't be alone right now.

"I wonder how Katie's doing…" Matt wondered out loud.

Shiro glanced up at Matt, inwardly contemplating for a moment before sitting up stretching his back and arms. Clearly, his mind being in no mood now to let him fall back asleep.

"She doesn't really have any friends…" Matt went on, it was a worry both him and Matt shared when it came to Katie and Keith. "Sorry you mentioned Keith and it just got me thinking about…"

"How alone Katie and Keith must feel" Shiro concluded and Matt nodded.

"I wouldn't say me and Keith were close but I do consider him a friend and Katie's my little sister, she been my best friend since she could walk and talk," Matt says as the corner of his lips twitching up in a slight smile, that seems to just as quickly fade.

Shiro knew the two holt siblings were close, seeing the way they interacted sometimes made him a little envious and wish he had a sibling of his own.

"But that's the problem" Matt sighed "Katie's never been good at getting along with others, it's not that Katie is a bad person, she just hasn't really… developed her social skills as well as her computer skills. I know how hard it can be when you're the smartest kid in school, the teachers either praising you to the point the other kids resent you, or worst you get teachers that have no idea how to handle how smart you are and treat you worst than the kids, you still get good grades but they treat you like your invisible or punish you for correcting them or-" Matt trailed off as they both heard footsteps, their bodies tensing hearing the thump of metal feet approaching their door, but the sound didn't linger and kept moving.

It was just the patrol, no one was here for them...yet.

"I know how you feel," Shiro said trying to draw Matt back to the conversation, it was easier to worry about others, think about them over thinking about themselves and their current situation. It was most likely why it felt easier for Shiro to stay strong for Matt than it was being strong for just himself.

"Keith's very talented but doesn't work well with others, and it takes a lot of effort before Keith will let anyone pass the emotional walls he's put up." Shiro had some personal experience with that "I'm pretty sure he's only let you in because you were so persistent" the taller of the two lightly teased.

"Well you know I have a way with people" Matt lightly joked "plus wall climbing is pretty much the only sport I'm semi-good at"

Shiro let out a small laugh, the ache in his arm and shoulder lingering but it was gradually fading.

"But… it seems to be more than just being socially awkward, don't get me wrong he is" he could name several instances where Keith couldn't understand a social cue or completely missed it all together, "but it always felt like he-" Matt paused trying to find the right words "kept people an arms reach away from everyone as if he's scared to let anyone get close."

"Yes, I've often wondered if he realized we were soulmates before I did" Shiro wondering if Keith would have trusted him and open up to him if they weren't "and sometimes I think the only reason he let me in-" Shiro glanced down at his right arm "is because we are soulmates" the tall man lifting his sleeve up, looking at the carnation on his arm, the symbol of his connection to Keith.

Matt looked at his arm having seen it a few times before.

"Well he seems to always keep his mark hidden and you only occasionally wear short sleeves," Matt seeing how one thing could of lead to the other, without Shiro's knowing.

"It's not unusual to keep your soul mark hidden, I haven't seen yours" Shiro countered feeling a little defensive about Keith keeping his mark hidden, Keith had kept it hidden from years which never really bothered him till he discovered they were soulmates.

"Well that's because mines on my back, all us holts have our Soulmarks somewhere along our backs" Matt explained. "My Mom always makes jokes that all our marks appeared on our backs because if they were anywhere easily visible we would spend half our time examining them"

"I could see that happening" Shiro agreed with a slight smile, all the Holts seem to have an unquenchable curiosity to them. "My mother used to always tell me; keep my mark out in the open until the day I found my soulmate, and once I found them, to always keep my mark hidden in public and only have my soulmate see it, that way no cursed thirds could ever find me"

"Guess that explains all the long sleeve shirts but you've been wearing long sleeves shirts, long before meeting Keith" Matt pointed out a little confused.

"Well all the garrison uniforms, have long sleeves as a standard" Shiro replied.

"Oh right," the shorter brunette said bashfully, sometimes Holts seem to over think things.

A thought suddenly seeming to pop into Matt's mind as his head suddenly perked up "hey what if Keith didn't show you his soul mark for years, was because Keith saw himself or thought he was a third"

"Keith's not a third" Shiro quickly replied.

"I know that but he might have thought that after meeting..." Matt went quiet, biting his lip not sure if he should say more.

"Adam?" Shiro finished, Adam was always a sensitive subject and was thankful Matt had enough tack to not bring him up too often.

Matt nodded, glancing over at his friend, seeming to watch his reaction.

"It's a possibility…" Shiro softly sighed, it was always a headache and heartache to think about Adam.

"Maybe you should try getting a little more sleep," Matt suggested.

Shiro shook his head "no I'm fine, you should get some rest and I'll keep a lookout"

Matt tiredly nodded knowing this subject didn't need to be diving into any deeper than it already had been. The shorter brunette staying close as he slowly moved himself to lay down.

Shiro knowing it was going to be a struggle for Matt to convince himself to fall asleep. and get a little rest. The least Shiro could do was watch over him and make sure he was okay while he slept.


	4. Are You Okay?

AN: Sorry, this took a while to get up, had a hard time getting the right feel to it.

Thanks to everyone who gave left Reviews, I love every single one.

* * *

He ruined everything.

The plan was if she got caught he was supposed to leave go on as a student, be their inside person and now they were both banned from the Garrison.

Keith's felt his emotions cooling and his nerves calming thanks to the whipping winds. Him and Katie riding on his hoverbike, heading back to town. His hands curling, gripping the handles on his bike tighter, his mind being clear only made it all the obvious how much skewered up. His mistake may have lost their only chance to find Shiro along with the male Holts.

Keith could imagine the lecture he would get from Shiro: about his temper, failing to work as a team, his aggressive behaviour. Now he was kicked out of the garrison; his stuff being sent to his address; said 'address' being nothing more than a delivery box in the city.

All because he couldn't follow the plan. He just had to fallow the guards when they caught her. Keith wasn't fully sure why, maybe her paranoia had rubbed off on him, but there was a part of him that just needed to watch over her; make sure they were really throwing her out and not planning on something else…

Keith had tried to stay out of sight, but his blood began to boil as they treated her roughly, and the second he heard her in real pain, a part of him just... snapped. He moved without thinking, he had to stop them from hurting her any more, the flow of his moves came as naturally to him as breathing, two swift moves on each guard and they were down.

Keith got her to turn around, honey brown eyes staring up at him, he couldn't tell what she was thinking. So many emotions seem to cross her features all at once, and he wasn't good at reading expressions on the best of days. Though surprised seemed to be the most obvious one, at least as far as he could tell.

Keith now wondered if Matt or all the holts had such soft honey brown eyes like Katie's? He honestly had never paid attention before…Keith quickly shook that stupid thought out of his head, there were more things to worry about than a person's eye colour.

Speaking of Katie, Keith took a moment to glance back at Katie, she really didn't take up much room on his bike, her arms felt small wrapped around his waist, her right arm holding much tighter around his waist than the left one; she was clearly favouring one over the other and her left arm had an occasional tense twitch against his side.

Keith had tried to take a look at her arm after forcing those two idiots to let her go but didn't get much time to do so. His little stunt had been caught on one of the cameras, they had a swarm of people surrounding them before he could even figure out how to get the two of them out.

One of the captains started yelling at him, the only parts that really registered was "Kogane this is the last straw" and "you are out of here" the rest of it he didn't really pay any attention to, he could fill it in on his own.

Keith kept most of his attention on making sure he was between Katie and anyone that was yelling and they went through a lot of people yelling at them.

Once after they got caught, then a Lady that went through the procedure of him getting kicked out of the garrisons, another one as they were patted down and his personal hoverbike was inspected, the last aggressively explaining every step on how they would be escorted off the Garrison's property.

By then other guards started whispering about the two of them, Keith choosing to ignore them and focusing more on getting his helmet onto Katie's head and get all her hair tucked in. He only had one and with her long hair, Keith could only imagine what kind of knots the wind would create.

They left on his hoverbike with an escort that stuck with them till they were about 5 miles outside of the Garrison's Property. The trucks stopped but watched them disappear into the distance, making sure they wouldn't try to double back.

Now he was just waiting for her to yell at him, she was probably waiting till they were in town. Keith figured she was too smart to try and rip him a new one until they were near civilization. He wasn't even sure how she got out to the garrison in the first place, but asking while getting thrown out wasn't the best time to ask, and doubted now was the best time either.

He felt her left arm twitch, and barely heard Katie's pained grunt over the whipping winds. It was the arm Joel nearly lifted and twisted up between her shoulder blades. Keith thinking he should have hit the guy harder.

Her arm probably needed a break, though he felt nervous about stopping, and give her a chance to get verbally tear into him; Katie had put so much effort into her plan and he was the one that ruined it. Though making sure Katie's arm didn't get worst was more important than keeping the illusion that their partnership still existed.

He did a quick scan of the surrounding area, finding a fairly decent spot behind a large lone rock. It was dusk and the sun was casting long shadows on everything. Keith changes his direction a little, slowing down and parking under the shade.

Katie seemed grateful for the break, releasing a relieved sigh, before letting go of his waist.

"How's your arm?" Keith asked getting off his bike taking care not to bump her.

"It's okay, just sore" she assured slowly rolling her shoulder trying not to aggravate it "I already did a quick tests for any dislocations, at worst I have minor pulled muscles" she assured, his eyes scanning over her arm, what kind of idiot would purposely harm someone as small as Katie?

Well, at least she wasn't yelling at him, though he doubted that would last. "Is it alright if I take a look at your arm?" Keith asked, those honey brown eyes of her are looking up at him puzzled, her gaze flickering away from him. Keith prepared himself for a refusal.

"Are you good with first aid stuff?" she asked instead.

"I'm decent, I've been in enough fights and scraps to know the basic signs of most injuries" Keith explained honestly. He probably should have come up with some kind of lie to make her feel more comfortable with his skills, but he was never good at lying, even if he had good intentions.

Katie let out a small burst of a laugher "Sure" she nodded "that's probably better experience than me just reading about it" she replied, Keith swearing he saw a ghost of a smile behind the tinted visor of his helmet.

She offered her arm, and he gently grabbed it, supporting her forearm with one hand as he gently rotated her wrist, with careful pushes and pulls against her hand both open and closed, before his hands went up to test her elbow and forearm.

"Thanks for helping me…" she said.

Keith's eyes flickered to her face, stunned to see a small smile on her lips and her honey brown eyes filled with graduated before fading to regret... or maybe guilt, damn she was so expressive, even he could read her, or at least could read the surface of her emotions.

"I'm sorry, helping me got you kicked out of the garrison" she added when he didn't reply, her head turning away. He couldn't see her face anymore and almost thankful for it as she wouldn't see him either.

Keith felt the twisted ball that had been building in his gut loosen. Blame, Snide Comments, Insults, he had grown used to. He expected her anger at the very least, for her to shout he was useless, and drop him. Leave him to his owns means as she continued her investigation alone, back to fumbling blindly on his own, with no direction and that little hope he finally got after weeks of despair would be gone…

Gratitude and apologies!? he didn't even know how to absorb or handle and took him several long confused moments before he even figured out what to say.

"it would have happened eventually" Keith assured with a shrug, moving up to check out her shoulder "just wish it had been Ivern instead"

Katie smirked and her body and eyes seem to relax, Keith wondering if she were expecting him to lash out at her... like he had been expecting her to do to him.

Keith sighed mentally replaying his mistake again, "I should be the one apologizing to you. I messed up any future plans you had." he grumbled, scolding himself.

"That's alright" she shrugged pulling out her phone and typing with her good hand, Keith wondering what in the world she was doing now. "Maybe we should focus on other things," she told him lifting her screen up to his face.

Keith blinked glancing at Katie, her head nudging insistently towards the phone.

He raised a questioning brow in reply but did as she silently requested shifting his gaze back to the small screen, his eyes scanning over the text.

 _They may have bugged your bike during the inspection,_  
 _I got a lot of information downloaded about the Kerberos mission,_  
 _I'll tell you later after we get your bike checked out._

Realisation, understanding and a little amazement washed over Keith. Yes, they could have bugged his bike, after the fuss they made, they legally had the right to do such a thing, since it would be for the garrisons security. She still had information about the Kerberos mission, but wasn't sure how…did she uploaded onto the net? Or more impressively, did she manage to hide it on her person without the guards finding it.

"Okay" Keith nodded gently letting go of her arm "and your arm doesn't seem too bad" Keith added agreeing with her diagnostics from before "think you feel good enough to make it back to town or do you need a few more minutes?"

"I should be alright" she nodded, leaning back letting him get back onto the back.

Keith carefully got back onto his bike, her small arms wrapping back around his waist, resting her head against his back. "Hey, Keith?"

"Yeah?" he asked half glancing back at her.

"Do you have a place to sleep tonight?" she asked her tone sounding concerned.

Keith froze, and mentally cursed, he really couldn't plan ahead, turning on his bike pretending he missed what she said. Maybe he could come up with an excuse or a fake story before they got into town.

* * *

If you can, please help keep my creative juices flowing with Ko-fi!:  
Ko-fi.-co-m/-cacophonyeg (minus the -)


	5. In town

Special thanks to:

Haleygur7, Saskiamq, Lauramichca, Katiegunderson, Raxacoricofallapatoreous and guests.

for sending reviews here on I really appreciate them all. =3

* * *

Once in town, they pulled over at a gas station Katie was familiar with; one she knew only had a single camera to watch the clerk's area.

Katie walking up to the clerk making sure the camera only ever saw the back of her head "excuse me, do you have a toolkit we can borrow?" she asked politely, her only reply from the tired male clerk was a raised eyebrow.

"I need it to fix my friends bike" she added gesturing to Keith who stood behind her, but still no reply or any sign that he registered what she just said.

Keith took half a step forward to stand next to her "I need it to fix a small l leak in a replay pipe" Keith clarified, it wasn't true, but she was thankful he added to her story in a believable way.

Katie could only assume that was a common request or problem, as he nodded and lifted his head to look at Keith.

"Fine, but I need one of her shoe's" the clerk replied pointing in Katie's direction, "as insurance you'll bring the kit back"

Katie getting the distinct feeling that the dude was being a little sexist towards her, between ignoring her and demanded one of her shoes, instead of Keith whom he seemed perfectly fine with actually speaking words to when he hasn't even spoken directly to her once! She was so tempted to… no, no she needed to stay calm, lashing out now wouldn't do them any good.

Keith looking just as confused glancing towards her, probably waiting to see what she wanted to do. It was strange being treated like the boss of their team up. Katie took a slow, deep breath "Patients yields focus" she softly muttered to herself.

Keith gave her a double take as she bent down, maybe because he assumed she would refuse or something along those lines?

Either way, she got her shoe off with her good arm and flopped it onto the counter, the guy gave an approving nod… towards Keith, and exchanged the shoe for the kit without another word.

Keith grabbing the kit, while she began hopping her way out of the storefront and back to the bike.

One arm still surging with pain, gently cradling against her body, hopping around on one foot, she must have been quite a site.

Keith caught up with her easily, stepping between her and his bike "Stop and sit" he told her.

"I can help" she defended, compared to Keith she may not be as familiar with hoverbikes, but she knew the basic set up of the bikes, and what to look for. "You don't even know what it looks like" she added crossing her arms doubting 'how to find and remove bugs' was something most garrison cadets learned.

Though to be fair; she technically shouldn't have known either… she simply had a long time 'hobby' of taking things apart and learning about every new piece of tech the garrison had; whether or not it was public.

"No I don't" Keith agreed with a slight nod, though his stance didn't show any signs of wavering "but I know my bike. I'll be able to tell what parts belong and what parts don't."

Katie refusing to just sit off on the side and do nothing; he might miss something. She opened her mouth, ready to counter his argument, lifting herself on her tiptoes to be more at level with him. A damning habit in these moments, when she had only one foot to relay on.

Her body Wiggling and wobbling made her lose any ground she had on the argument, and barely keeping herself from falling in the prosses.

Keith carefully grasping her good arm, slowly leaning her upright again.

"Sit" Keith order, his voice firm but his touch surprising gently as his other hand lightly grasped her opposite hip to help rebalance her "you can tell me where to look, and if I find anything I'll show it to you"

It was a compromise Katie could live with "okay..." she reluctantly nodded, he didn't let go of her till she was sitting down on the cement barrier; set between the store and the parking area.

Katie began instructing Keith where to look, mentally ticking off a list of usual spots a sound bug or tracking bug could be hidden without getting fried, muck up any mechanical parts or simply fall off.

A part of her feeling somewhat surprised with how methodical he been looking over each section she told him about, part of her expecting Keith would only do it to humour her 'overactive imagination'.

Thankfully he did find a chip in the fourth spot, Katie starting to worry if they didn't find anything Keith would start thinking she was too paranoid or something along those lines.

Keith bringing over the thumbnail size chip, letting her get a better look at the thing.

"It's a tracker," she told him turning it around in her good hand.

"Can we use it for anything?" he asked going back to his bike, carefully hooking the plating he just removed back into its proper place.

"not really" she replied, it was kind of useless for their current needs "but-" she glanced around looking at the other vehicle around them "we could send them on a goose chase" she suggested.

"Goose chase?" Keith questioned.

Clearly, Keith was not connecting her intentions to her words, so she tried a different way to express her plan.

Katie lifted up the chip, before gesturing her hand towards the muddied truck currently filling up at one of the store's gas pumps. Katie watching his eyes, trace from the chip to the truck, it took a moment but a beat later recognition flashed in his eyes, looking back at her with a slight smirk.

"I'll go grab your shoe," he told her, holding the toolkit in his right hand and plucking the chip with his left.

Katie catching a glimpse of red stem printed on the skin of his wrist, the familiar stem leading up, under the cuff of his fingerless gloves.

It wasn't hard for her to recognize the shape of the stem, after all, she couldn't count the hours she spent studying hers and Shiro's marks; that red stem was a part of Keith's soulmark.

Her eyes watched him as he slipped the chip into a crevice of the dirty truck; it seemed to be an aspect of the truck's design. Her eyes following him till he disappeared around the corner to talk to the clerk.

Katie reminding herself she was working with Shiro's true soulmate... the person that turned her life upside down, that she change so many parts of her life so she could avoid, pretend he didn't exist. Now he was the only person that could or was willing to believe her, to give her help in finding her family and the truth, who protected her and fought for her when someone hurt her.

Her mind still boggled over that part, Keith barely knew her, yet when those guards hurt her, he was there in an instant decking both of them.

She began wondering if he was just the protective type or maybe had a strong sense of chivalry... But honestly, she had no real way of knowing...to be blunt she simply didn't know him. Shiro had talked about Keith a lot but always forced herself not to listen, she didn't want to hear anything about Keith, she pretended to be too lost in her project or something else and 'accidentally' miss what he said.

A woosh of something swinging in front of her face snapping Katie out of her thoughts, her eyes taking a second to readjust and recognize it as one of her shoes'.

"you okay?" Keith questioned, his tone sounded normal almost monotone, her eyes flicking up to him, catching a glimpse of concern in his eyes with one brow raised high.

"Yeah just lost in thought" she answered, taking her shoe, leaning down to try and put it back on, awkwardly trying to do so with just one hand.

Katie saw Keith moving in the corner of her eye but figured he was going back to his bike. She wasn't expecting the feeling of her footwear carefully being pulled out of her fingers, while Keith bent down on one knee.

Keith using his propped up knee to balance her shoe and loosen it. Using that surprising gentle touch of his to grab her ankle and slide her foot into it. Keith paused for a moment to look up at her with that questioning look of his, almost as if he was expecting or waiting for something to happen.

"What?" Katie couldn't help but ask.

"You're not going to put up a fuss?" he questioned.

"It's easier and faster just letting you do it" Katie replied with a slight shrug. With her trying to put a shoe on with one hand, it really was less hassle to let him do it. But with the way both his eyebrows jumped up slightly, Katie could only guess that it wasn't the answer he was expecting. His eyes looking back down again, his hands working on tieing up her shoe.

"Thanks" she added softly.

"Your welcome" he replied, nodding his head a little too fast.

It was the second time he seemed thrown off by her thanking him, she couldn't imagine Shiro not using please and thank you a lot, her curiosity buzzing with questions as to how people treated him back at the Garrison, which reminded her.

"You didn't answer me earlier," Katie said, as he returned her foot and stood up.

"Answer what?" he questioned back, grabbing her good hand with his right hand and putting his other at the small of her back; sending a buzzing warmth through her, as he carefully helping her stand.

"Do you have a place to sleep tonight?" she asked again, this time watching his features.

Keith's face seems to freeze before twisting into a frown and his eyebrows knotting together, Katie practically watching the gears in his mind turning.

She almost wanted to laugh for how bad he was at coming up with a lie on the fly.

"You can stay with me and my mom tonight," she told him, Keith giving her a double take as if he heard her wrong. "I'll text her and give her a heads up, we have a spare bedroom you can stay in" she assured.

Keith started at her as if he was waiting for her to say something else, but she wasn't sure what he was expecting.

Keith's mouth opened, then closed shaking his head "are you sure? Are you sure your mom would be okay with that?" he asked, looking so hesitant and nervous, though she couldn't fathom why.

"Yes, though don't say anything about me breaking into the garrison" Katie pleaded, "my mom would ground me so hard I'll have to become a mole person to survive"

A ghost of a smile brushed over Keith's lips, "I can handle that" he agreed.

"And Keith"

"Yeah?" he questioned looking at her probably expecting another condition but that wasn't her intention.

"Thanks for helping me up but I can walk to the bike on my own" she informed him, Keith still holding her right hand within his, But what got Katie blushing was the feeling of his left hand; the one with his soul mark, still resting against her lower back, unintentionally pressing right against her own hidden soul-mark.

Keith practically jumped away from her as if she suddenly burned him. Katie would feel a little insulted by the reaction if she wasn't too busy biting her lower lip, in a not so successful attempt to stop her from laughing. She had no idea Keith's cheeks could turn into the same shade as his jacket.

It was honestly pretty adorable.

* * *

Shiro let out a long breath, a warm comforting sensation starting in his lower back and left hand, the feeling washing over his body. He couldn't express how grateful he was for the feeling, not for only reassuring him that Keith was all right, but it allowed him to feel calmer, that allowed him to keep his mind as clear as possible.

Which if Shiro needed more than anything was going to make sure Matt and him survived this living nightmare. Shiro keeping the holt son as close as possible as they were shuffled onto a ship. The guard's telling them nothing, but Shiro swore he head them mention a Gladiator Rings.

* * *

AN: Okay so… you can imagine what's up next for Shiro, but how will Katie and Keith handle this when they start to feel what Shiro's feeling even lightyears away? You'll have to find out next time.


	6. Holt House

It's finally HERE! The next Chapter!

Sorry, it took so long, but I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Special thanks to KatieGunderson, haleygur7, RJLadyA, Saskiamq, for leaving reviews on the last chapter.

* * *

Keith stared at Katie's home, looking over every detail he could in the dim light. Nothing about the house, at least on the outside, really showed that a family of geniuses lived here. Though the front garden was much larger, then he was expecting.

Keith had heard countless stories about the Holt household and Shiro's time with them. It felt bazaar seeing the house with his own eyes, like visiting a faraway land you only ever heard about and never expected to visit.

Katie got off the bike on her own, his mind was a little distracted by the home before him. Keith's forced himself to look away from the house of a thousand Shiro tales and towards Katie.

Her fingers working on getting the helmet's buckle open, but clearly not succeeding. Keith noted she was heavily relying on her right arm, probably so she wouldn't aggravate her injured shoulder.

A surge of anger pulsed through his veins, Katie's yelp of pain echoing in his head.

"Keith…"

Katie's soft voice broke through his thoughts, instinctively looking back at her. Somehow during his musing, the hair stuffed in her helmet had shifted obstructing half her view as the fluffy mess pressed against the visor.

"Help… please…" Katie asked, sounding both shy and reluctant with her request.

So far, Katie seems like the type to do everything herself or at least not want to rely on others. Something he was guilty of, but unlike him, at least she could ask for help when she really needed it.

"Don't worry, I got it," he assured Katie, dismounting his bike.

A half-smile creeping onto his face, seeing strands of hair poking out of the helmet as if they were fighting their way out.

Her hands fell away from the helmet and closed her eyes. It was such a small sign of trust, but it made Keith's stomach do a happy flip. These gestures of trust were typical for teammates, right? He honestly didn't know, no one trusted him outside of being assigned to take out a target on his own… but that felt distinctly different, then the ways Katie showed her faith in him.

Some of Katie's soft hair grazing over his fingers while he worked on unbuckling the strap. Keith tried his best to slowly take off the helmet, not wanting to cause more knots in her hair. But Katie's fluffy hair practically exploded outward as it was released.

"Thanks Keith" she sighed in relief before grumbling softly as she tried ruffling and brushing her fingers through her long hair in an attempt to tame the chaotic mess.

Keith nodded, leaving Katie to fix her hair as he lifted the seat of his motorcycle, putting the helmet back into its place. His gaze shifting towards the Holt home again.

"Are you okay with dogs?"

Keith blinked, quickly looking over to Katie, "what…?"

"We have a dog, sorry just thought about it, Bea Bea is a sweetie but a little excitable meeting new people she's just barely a year old so got a bit of puppy syndrome still." She explained.

"I like dogs," more often than people if Keith was honest.

"Good," she smiled, gently grabbing the cuff of his jacket and lightly tugging him towards the house "I already checked my phone, my mom's okay with you staying."

A part of him still wanted to argue, tell Katie and her Mom that he would be fine on his own. The only thing stopping him... he honestly had nowhere to go. Not to mention any lie he'd come up with, wouldn't fool Katie. He hadn't had many personal interactions with her, but he could already tell she had a scary amount of intelligence.

Katie's hand tightened around his sleeve as she unlocked the door. Keith, not 100% sure if it was because she was nervous or worried about him bolting.

"Mom?" Katie called out, locking the door behind her then letting his sleeve go.

Yep, she thought he was going to bolt… not that he could blame her... He had been trying and failing to think of ways to leave.

"Welcome home sweetie," Katie's Mom greeted, poking her head out from around the corner, the woman looking surprised as she scanned over them. "What happened? both of you are filthy."

Keith glanced down at himself, he was covered in sand. He probably should have patted himself down before coming in, glancing over at Katie as she came to the same realization looking down at her sandy clothes.

"Keith drove us back in his hoverbike, don't worry he's fully licenced," Katie explained.

Keith never told her that, but on the other hand, she could have figured it out on her own. That, or she did a thorough background check on him... Katie was definitely the type to do her own research on people.

Mrs. Holt approached them, looking over both of their forms. Keith was impressed by Katie; for looking so natural and masking any pain from her shoulder.

"And you weren't wearing a helmet," Miss Holt stated, giving him a firm look, one that made him freeze in place.

How did she know it was him not wearing a helmet?

Why were all the holts impressive?

Even Sergeants couldn't make him freeze in place like Katie's Mom could right now.

"I only had one helmet," Keith answered, feeling compelled to speak.

The women sighed before looking down at her daughter, "Katie, go have a shower please"

Katie's honey-brown eyes whipped to look up at Keith then to her mother. "Mom…" her voice sounded higher-pitched, almost pleading.

"Katie." Mrs. Holt replied firmly, the two women gaze locking for a long moment before Katie sighed, shooting him an apologetic as she shuffled herself down the hall.

Keith wondering what he was in for.

"Keith, would you like something to drink?" asked calmly, giving him a small smile, "Water, Juice, Tea?"

Keith felt his chest urch at the offer of tea, he hadn't had any since before Shiro left for Kuborous. "Water, please," he asked, mentally ignoring the tight feeling in his throat.

"Easy enough, why don't you join me in the kitchen" The women offered, though Keith swears it felt more like an order.

She guided him into the kitchen, offering him a seat at the breakfast bar as she rounded the other side to grab a glass. Keith quietly sat down where she gestured, his eyes gazing around the place.

Keith tried to picture some of Shrio's stories happening here. About the baking concoctions, Shiro and the holt siblings had worked on in the pursuit of 'science.' The Meals Shiro helped prep with Mrs. Holt while the other Holts were quickly shooed away: banished to cleaning duty for past kitchen crimes. The recipes Shiro learned from Mrs. Holt, ones that Shiro would later share with Keith.

If nothing else, Keith now had a face and a place for those stories.

His eyes returned to the woman as she handed him a glass of water. "Thank you," Keith said, nodding politingly as he grabbed the drink.

"You're welcome," Mrs. Holt replied with a smile, "Keith, why do you need a place to stay tonight?" she asked calmly, her eyes burning through him as she spoke.

Keith's eyes locked with the woman's, not sure what to say that wouldn't get Katie in trouble. He had already ruined enough things for her tonight.

Mrs. Holt's eyes were more of a light brown, didn't have the same golden shimmers like Katie's.

The woman remained quiet and calm as she waited for him to speak. Keith quickly recalling tips Katie drilled into him. Though they were initially about anyone at the Garrison questioned about the break-in. He hoped the same could be applied now that he ruined Katie's first well-crafted plan.

Keep things simple, was the first tip. Tell the truth, but only enough to be satisfying and avoid the key points. Said key points now being: Do not say anything about Katie breaking into the Garrison, and hacking their system.

"I was kicked out of the Garrison," Keith confessed.

Katie's Mom hummed in acknowledgment and didn't seem surprised. Keith mentally cursed; what if the Garrison had called Katie's Mom and told her about what they had done. Mrs. Holt could be testing him now, seeing if he would tell her the truth.

"How did Katie know you were kicked out?" Mrs. Holt questioned.

How much should he say? If he lied and Mrs. Holt already knew the truth, how would she react? Would she kick him out for it?

For Katie, he had to risk it. He had already messed up so much for her. He couldn't lose Katie's trust, not when she was the only hope he had towards finding the truth... and maybe getting Shiro back.

"My phone," he answered a little too quickly, the women giving him a questioning look. "Katie reached out to me about a week after the crash was publically announced... We've been messaging each other since then... Tonight was the first time we met in person." Good everything he just said wasn't a lie; hopefully, wouldn't be too upset.

"It's good to know Katie is talking to someone about that," Mrs. Holt sighed in relief, making Keith give the woman a double-take.

"Katie, refuses to talk to me about it... It's good for her to talk about it, and it's good for you too." The women softly smiled gratitude and relief, filling her features.

Keith wondered why Katie wasn't talking to her Mom about the crash... Was Katie not as close to her Mom as she was her Dad? Did something happen between them? He understood not wanting to tell her about breaking into the Garrison, but why not the 'crash' itself?

"You'll stay with us till you're eighteen," The woman said with a soft smile as she gently patted his hand.

"Umm excuse me?" Keith blinked… he must have missed something.

"Your seventeen, with no other family, correct?" Mrs. Holt clarified.

"Yes, ma'am" Keith nodded.

"Now that you've been kicked out of the Garrison, Foster Care will be after you, and I'm not letting that happen." she stated "So you'll stay here with us. At least till you turn eighteen and if you want to leave after that your free to, or if you need to stay longer, your welcome to do that as well," Mrs. Holt assured.

"Mrs. Holt I can't do that." he didn't want to be a burden on her, what Katie was doing... and Mrs. Holt letting him stay the night was already more than enough.

"Nonsense, take over the guest room as your own room. It will be nice having boys around again, and I think both you and Katie need each other right now" she insisted with a kind smile.

That made a burst of warmth bloom in his chest. Shiro was right; all the Holt's were astounding.

"I have no way to pay for the room or food," Keith added, he couldn't stay... there was no way he could really live here.

"You'll earn your keep the same way Katie does. By doing chores and a few other extra tasks Katie's too short to do" Mrs. Holt insisted.

A small laugh slipping out of Keith, it was surprising to hear Katie's mom jab at her daughter's height.

"Thank you, Mrs. Holt" Keith nodded, he's not sure how long this would last, but he'll take a warm bed and food for as long as he can.

"Sounds like Katie's out of the shower, why don't you jump into the shower as well and I'll try to find you some clothes." Mrs. Holt suggested as Katie slid into the kitchen, a bull terrier dog rushing in with her.

The pup's nails made her slide further, then Katie. The relatively short dog scrambling to stop. Mid breaking the terrier noticing Keith and quickly tried to change her momentum towards him.

Keith leaning down to pet the dog, the short hair pup leaning into his touch while wagging her tail happily.

"Katie after I find Keith some clothes, we are having a talk" Mrs. Holt informed her daughter as she passed by.

Katie's shoulders slumping a little, her lips frowning.

"It's not that bad," Keith quietly told Kaite, when Mrs. Holt left the kitchen.

"She went easy on you; she won't go easy on me," Katie grumbled.

She didn't look worried, more annoyed than anything else. Keith tried to recall some team encouraging practices. He never used them at the Garrison, but he and Katie really did feel like teammates, and she didn't toss him away after making a pretty big mistake.

She was his partner in this, and teammates supported each other.

"KEITH, Showers ready!" Mrs. Holt called.

Keith left his seat, Katie muttering instructions to the bathroom, something about the bathroom being the second door on the right.

He paused next to Katie, thinking over different encouraging gestures. It didn't feel right doing a shoulder squeeze like Shiro would do. So back pats it was. Keith's hand gently patted her lower back since her shoulder was most likely still hurting and sore.

Katie bolted up at his touch, whipping around to look at him, flinching slightly with the movement. Her honey brown eyes staring wide eye up at him.

He did something wrong… even when he tried to be a good teammate, he couldn't.

"Good luck with your Mom," Keith quickly added, hoping it would help, But Katie just kept staring at him. Her honey-brown eyes having that thousand questions look in them again.

Mrs. Holt called for Keith again, and he quickly left the room before he did something else wrong.

* * *

This chapter was super long so I ended having to split it into two, but I really wanted to make sure Keith had enough time to interact with Colleen Holt, and absorb the household he had heard so much about.

Check out my other Voltron fics, and come check out my Tumblr to see my art and some of my little au's I don't that I don't post here.

I also post when I update my fics : .com


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